maqr

I have 7 days.
Fly in to Paris and my return flight is also from Paris.
Thinking of staying in Paris for 2 nights and spend rest of 5 days travelling acrosss switzerland and return to Paris for my return flight.
Please advise the best possible itinerary.
Thinking of taking a family euro rail pass too. Thanks

StCirq

If you have only 7 days, you should fly into France and out of Switzerland to avoid backtracking. And a rail pass is very unlikely to be a good value. I've never done a quick trip like this to two countries, so I'll let others help you out with routing.

neckervd

Why don't you fly to Paris if you don't wnat to visit Paris? You need at least 4 full days (without "jetlag day") for a somewhat decent visit of Paris and surroundings. In the remaining 2 days, you could take a TGV to Avignon (3 hrs journey) and visit some places of Provence of you could take a TGV to Geneva and visit Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc area.

neckervd

Sorry: it should be: why DO you fly to Paris, if .....

ira

Hi ma,

Your plan is contraindicated.

You have only one week. It is the rare person who is bored by a week in Paris.

Michael

You could perhaps land in Paris and get the TGV to Basel on the same day if Switzerland is really your destination. On the return trip you probably would have to stay in Paris overnight unless you find a late afternoon flight that allows you to take the TGV from Switzerland and arrive in Paris in time (4+ hours) to connect to your departing flight. Finding a cheap a.m. flight from Switzerland to Paris is an alternative if it lands in Orly or CDG but not Beauvais.

kerouac

Not possible. You need to rethink your trip and/or your goals.

Edward2005

Either stay a week in Paris or stay a week in the alps. Can't do both without running yourself ragged.

Gretchen

Silly use of time. Stay in Paris. OR as said, stay in Switzerland. The latter is beautiful. The former is inspiring.

rjain

We also had 8 days between Paris and Switzerland last year and trust me we had enough time to see what is worth in these two places
If you only have two days in Paris- you must visit- Louvre museum, Palace of Versailles, Eiffel tower,Notre Dame,Sainte Chapelle etc.The lines at Eiffel are huge, so plan on leaving early morning. If you could keep 3 days in Paris that would be great.We spent 5 days in Switzerland, we based ourselves in Geneva and bought a 4 day Swiss rail pass, which allowed us to use almost every public transportation free. In switzerland you must visit Mt Jungfrau (if you care for fantastic views and lots of train rides to get to the top), MT Titlis (if you care for snow sports/tubing, revolving rotair, ice fliers) We stayed overnight at a tiny place called Grindelwald (heaven on earth) and took the earliest train to Mt Jungfrau. We also loved a tiny town by the lake called Speiz- it was breathtakingly beautiful. Lucern is another town you can visit on your way to Mt Titlis. We also visited Interlaken, there is a beautiful fall there. Switzerland is a tiny country which can be easily covered in 5 days. Hope this helps.

neckervd

"We also had 8 days between Paris and Switzerland last year and trust me we had enough time to see what is worth in these two places"
That's YOUR opinion, but no European would share it.

annhig

Switzerland is a tiny country which can be easily covered in 5 days. .>>

it may or may not be true that you can cover a reasonable amount of Switzerland in 5 days, [I seriously doubt it] but Paris is a large city which simply cannot be covered or appreciated in the remaining 2 days.

why go to Paris just to leave it?

msteacher

Keep in mind that Switzerland is both very expensive and very mountainous. All those mountains means it takes longer than you'd think to get between places that look like they are right next to each other on the map.

PalenQ

spend rest of 5 days travelling acrosss switzerland and return to Paris for my return flight.>

<And a rail pass is very unlikely to be a good value>

nothing could be further from the true IME when talking about Switzerland - even a 4-day Swiss Pass there for anyone crossing the country twice and traveling in between can be a great deal. No a Eurailpass would not be a good deal, especially since it does not cover many things in Switzerland a Swiss Pass does but a Swiss Pass often is for what the average traveler does in even a few days.

For loads of great info on Swiss trains and passes, etc OI always spotlight these IMO fine sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html and www.ricksteves.com.

To get to Switzerland from Paris go to www.voyages-sncf.com and book discounted but train- and date-specific one - say Paris to Bern or Zurich or Lausanne or Geneva or Basel, etc. Then use a Swiss Pass in Switzerland - passes pass not only on trains but also on lake boats, city buses and trams, postal buses and gives free entry to 400+ Swiss museums.

PalenQ

magr - 5 days in Switzerland - even though Switzerland is a tiny country there I would suggest heading to one venue like the fantastic Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - to many the absolute essence of the dreamy picture of Switzerland perhaps etched in your mind's eye - soaring glacier-girdled peaks - lovely Alpine valleys dotted by bell-tingling cows and wooden flower-bedecked chalet-style houses - easy to spend five days there - so so much to do - base in a lovely Alpine village like Wengen or Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen - perpetual favorites with Fodorites - there are hiking trails for all abilities - aerial cable ways and toy-like mountain trains going everywhere - just an Alpine wonderland that to me is both the literal and figurative highlight of Switzerland.

javafan1

I agree with PalenQ. You can easily spend 5 nights in the Bern Oberland region. When we were in Lauterbrunnen area in 2012, we bought a 4 day local pass that covered many of the attractions including Schynige Platte, Jungfrau, gondalas to Murren, train to Wengen, Grindenwald, and First. Take the time at each of these attractions to absorb the scenary and culture at a slow pace. Paris deserves at least 5 nights, more if your doing a day trip out on a RER train.

PalenQ

That could be the Jungfraubahn Pass javalan1 is talking about - for trains and conveyance sin the Interlaken area and if you are heading straight to this fabulous Jungfrau Region and going nowhere else that pass would probably be better than a Swiss Pass as it covers things in full a Swiss Pass will not - like the pricey train to the Jungfraujoch and to the Schilthorn and Schynige Platte - in fact just doing the Jungfraujoch train itself will go a long way to paying for that pass, only sold locally I believe (not sure) at train stations in the area.

PalenQ

it may or may not be true that you can cover a reasonable amount of Switzerland in 5 days, [I seriously doubt it>

well yes I can agree with you on that - my point was that you can go anywhere in Switzerland or a few places in five days - the country is very very tiny even though those pesky Alps tend to get in the way. 5 days is not too little to appreciate Switzerland if say you want to just go to one place like ther fantastic Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - the essence of the romantic picture of Switzerland ethced in many folks' minds.

I'd say 3 days is about right for the average traveler in Paris (Fodorgarchs are no average traveler though!)

tailsock

maqr is gone with the wind. another fodor's "one and done" poster ;-)

Edward2005

We called them "drive-by posters" back in the day.